It's alright. You'll only get lost in the BEAUTY of the places we take you to.

Wild and Moose-Guided Adventures

Some canoe trips start out challenging. This one was no different. After 36hrs of cold wet weather, the sun and warmth returned and everyone was happy and content.

The high water was great for cruising along in the canoes, but upon rounding a tight corner in the river we came across two twin moose calves that were struggling. They had been caught in the fast cold water and were stranded against a steep, muddy bank. Hypothermia and fear had set in, and they were unable to swim or climb out.

The young moose were shivering and unable to climb up the bank or swim against the current to a nearby sand bar. We decided to see if we could help them out of the river.

When we got up to the moose, they were shivering from cold and probably a lot of fear from our approach. They weren’t the only nervous ones. The thought of a momma moose crashing down on us was not a calming thought. Despite the fears, the first baby swam along side the canoe as we assisted it to shore. Once it could touch bottom, it trotted up the sandbar and went on its way.

The second calf was in worse shape than its twin. It was too weak to swim. I hauled the baby into the canoe, being careful not to hurt it as we got it long legs in the boat.

Surprisingly, the moose didn’t resist and seemed comfortable in the bottom of the canoe.

The poor little moose was too weak to walk on its own. Once on land we tried our best to treat it for hypothermia.

I squeezed as much water out of the calf’s hair as possible and massaged its torso to try and warm its body. Luckily the sun was quite warm too. We fed it part of a granola bar.

Eventually the baby moose warmed up and was able to stand up and move around on its own. It seemed to like all the rubbing and massaging it was getting.

Quickly jumping into the canoe and with a few splashes of water in the direction of the calf, we were able to get far enough away so she stayed put. Her twin had also returned by this time. I don’t know what happened to them. We did all we could do to help and at the very least they weren’t caught in the cold, fast water. I wonder if we would recognize each other if we meet again. I will be back on that section of river soon. I hope we see them.